Method of scarfing



J. L. ANDERSON' METHOD OF SCARFING Filed Feb. 10, 1942 FIG.

A ril 18, 1944;

FIG. 3

FIG.5.

FIG.6.

INVENTQR BY Z ' ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 1944 METHOD OF SCARFING James L. Anderson, Gloster, N. J., asslgnor to Air Reduction Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application February 10, 1942, Serial hlo. 430,209

Claims.

This invention relates toscarfingmetal surfaces, and more particularly to the scarfing of surfaces of substantial width by a single pass of a wide oxygen stream.

For removing metal from wide areas it is usual to employ a number of approximately parallel. jets which preferably touch one another and merge into a wide stream where they strike the work-piece. The jets may be discharged from. separate tips located close to one another transversely across the metal work-piece, or from spaced jet orifices in the face of a block tinwith the jets close enough together to form what is in effect a blanket of oxygen directed against the metal surface. It has been customary to sur-= round each scarfing oxygen orifice with a circle of preheating. orifices in accordance with the usual practice with cutting tips. It has also been proposed to direct the scarfing oxygen from.

a slot orifice extending transversely of the work, and to locate some of the preheating jets above and others below the scarfing oxygen slot.

I have discovered that in scarfing wide areas with a blanket of oxygen directed against the metal surface, a special situation is presented with respect to the preheating flames. I have found that if substantially all of the preheating f flames, except those above the oxygen streams} are eliminated, less oxygen is required to remove the same amount of metal.

Although. the amount of preheating is reduced, and the preheating jets eliminated are the ones closest to the work-piece and the ones located in position for most effectively heating the work-piece, the eiiiciency of the scarfing operation is improved. My explanation of this en withresulting decrease in the efficiency he metal surface and under the'oxygenj a. delaying the contact of the scariingf oxygen with the'work-piece and diluting the i l: seminars that more advantageous re sults' 'a're obtainedbynot having the products of I: combustion of. preheating'fiames come in contact with. the metal surfacepf. the work-piece. With this mventioit preheating flames above the scarfing oxygen stream radiate heat to the metal of th work-piece, but the gases from the preheating flames preferably do not touch the workpiece.

Objects of the invention are to provide a more eflicient method for scarfing metal bodies, and particularly for scarfing wide areas in a single pass; to remove more metal with a given amount of oxygen; and to progressively preheat a metal surface at the region of impingement of a scarfing oxygen stream without introducing diluent gases between the scarring stream and the surface of the metal work-piece. p

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will appear or be pointed out as the specification proceeds.

In the accompanying drawing, forming a part hereof:.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a billet and torches for scarfing the billet by the process of this invention.

' Fig. 2 is an end elevation showing the relation of the preheating jets to the scarflng stream in the torches of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the. torches shown in Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and 5 are sectional views on the lines 4-4 and 5-5, respectively, of Figs. 3 and 4.

Fig. 6 is a face view of the torch shown in Figs. 3-5. v

A ferrous metal work-piece, shown in Fig. '1

as a billet. Hi, travels along a mill table or conveyor in the direction indicated by the arrow in the drawing. Sca'rfing torches ll, l2, l3 and I4 'i- Each torch has a face I! in which there are orifices I8 for projecting jets of scarfing oxygen against the surface of. the billet III at an acute angle to the surface when the torch is in its intended orientation with respect to the workpiece.

fuel gas mixture, for preheating flames.

The orifices l8 are close enough together to deliver, in effect, .a blanket of oxygen over the billet surface-just ahead of the torch. It is a feature of'jthe process that substantially all of the fuel gas mixture-"used for preheating is burned in jets locatedon the-side "of the oxygen blanket away' from the surface of the work; and in the illu'stra- .tion of the invention in the drawing all ofthe preheating jets are on the side of the oxygen stream away from the work.

Fig. 2 shows a section through the streams of gas issuing from the different orifices. The oxy- Other jet orifices 20 open through the face l1 and supply fuel, or preferably anpxygen stream from the scarflng jet oriflce I8 is indicated by the long thin lines 22. The primary combustion cones of the preheating flames supplied by the other jet oriflces 20, are indicated by the reference character 23, while the envelope by short wavy lines in Fig. 2.

In scarflng with a plurality of orifices located close enough to deliver touching oxygen jets that blanket the work-piece, there is insufficient opportunity for the escape of products of combustion from flames under the oxygen stream. When preheating flames are used under such circumstances. the products of combustion from the preheating flames flow forward between the oxy en blanket and the surface of the work-piece. and apparently prevent the oxygen from coming into contact with the work-piece surface as quickly as is the case with no preheating jets under the scarflng stream. Perhaps even more important is gases and products of combustion 24 are shown features of the invention can be used without means of flames directed toward the work-piece the dilution of the scarflng oxygen by the products of combustion of preheating jets located under scarflng oxygen streams in scarflng apparatus of the prior art.

With this invention the gases 24 from the preheating flames 23 do not dilute the scarflng oxygen. Although the preheating jet orifices are preferably inclined toward the work-piece at a somewhat greater acute angle than are the scarfing oxygen jets, the velocity of the preheating flame jets is not sufilcient to cause them to intersect the scarflng stream prior to the reaction of the scarflng oxygen with the metal of the Workpiece.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of this invention, the preheating jets 23 heat the metal of the work-piece by radiation through the oxygen stream and there is no contact between the work-piece and the preheating flames or the products of combustion from the preheating flames. The oxygen stream receives heat directly from the preheating flames.

The surface of the billet is heated to a kindling temperature before starting the scarflng operation. Then the scarflng oxygen jets are directed against the surface of the billet and the surface ahead of the torch is heated progressively to kindling temperature, during relative movement of the billet and torches, by the combined heating of the preheating flame jets 23 and the reaction of the scarflng oxygen with the metal of the billet.

Fig. 3 shows a distributing chamber 25 in the torch tip for supplying the oxy-fuel gas mixture to all of the preheating jet orifices 20. The gas mixture is supplied to thedistributing chamber 26 through a conduit 21.

Fig. 4 shows a distributing chamber 28 in the tip separate and independent of the chamber 26. All of the scarflng oxygen jet orifices it lead from the distributing chamber 28 and oxygen is supplied to the chamber 28 through a conduit 28.

There are passages 30 in the tip for the circulation of cooling fluid. usually water.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Sealal No. 257,941, filed February 23, 1939, now Patent No. 2,277,472, issued March 24, 1942.

Terms of orientation in the description and claims are, of course, relative. For example, the

" preheating jets described as above the scarflng jets when operating on the top surface of the billet in Fig. 1, are below the scarflng jets when operating on the bottom face of the billet; Various changes and modifications can be made in the illustrated embodiment of the invention, and some at an acute angle somewhat greater than the angle at which the scarflng jets are directed against the work-piece and with substantially all of the preheating flames located above the streams of scarflng oxygen.

2. In the scarflng of a ferrous metal workpiece by directing a number of touching oxygen jets against the surface of the'work-piece with the metal of said surface at ignition temperature, causing relative movement of the oxygen jets and the work-piece, and heating the surface of the work-piece during the scarflng operation by means of oxy-fuel gas preheating flames, the improvement that comprises directing the scarfing oxygen jets from a levelcloser to the workpiece than the level at which the preheating flames originate to prevent products of combustion of said preheating flames from contacting with the oxygen jets on the sides of the jets nearest the work-piece.

3. The method of removing metal from the surface of a work-piece, comprising directing a. plurality of scarflng jets against the work-piece with the metal at ignition temperature, and with the scarflng jets closely spaced so that they remove the metal from touching areas of the surface of I with the surface of the work-piece.

4. The method of removing surface metal from a ferrous metal body, which method comprises directing scarflng oxygen against the surface at an acute-angle to said surface and across sufiicient width of the surface to form in effect a blanket of oxygen of substantially greater width than thickness, causing relative movement of the stream and the metal body lengthwise of .the metal body, and raising the surface metal to a kindling temperature progressively along the metal body with the assistance of heat from the combustion of fuel gas, substantially allof which is burned in preheating flames located on the side of the oxygen blanket remote from the surface against which the scarflng oxygen is directed.

5. The process for scarflng a ferrous metal workpiece, which process comprises directing a blanket of scarflng oxygen against the surface while producing relative movement of the work-piece and blanket of scarflng oxygen lengthwise of said work-piece. and projecting preheating flames at an acute angle toward the surface of the workpiece from sources substantially all of which are on the far side of the blanket from the workpiece so that the products of combustion from the preheating flames do not come in contact with the surface of the work-piece.

JAMES L. ANDERSON. 

